TheMYSTERY of my car's shattered rear window glass

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
286
Location
nyc
Woke up to a nasty surprise: The mysterious case of my shattered back window glass...

I live in the 20-inches-of-snow-covered North-East. For the last few days, my car (2007 Corolla CE) which has been parked on the public streets has been covered in some snow. For the last few days, I go out for some exercise and I would always go take a look at how much the snow has melted around the car.

Well, this morning, I take a look and the glass in the rear has been shattered!!

the mystery is that it looks "pristine" as though it had been completely untouched by any blunt object...

this is more what it looks like, all over:
shattered-glass.jpg


rather than this:
144367587_XZABB-S.jpg




Here's the question: How do you think this could've happened? Any theories?

I'll offer mine first: Temperature. or rather differences in temperature. But then, this makes almost no sense, since the greatest differential in temperature during the last few days and nights of this blizzard has been about 10 degreees. plus, this has never happened before and temperature has varied wildly. i'm afraid I'll never find out, but i'll pretend that it wasn't a nasty neighbor or a vandalous (word?) stranger.


Do you have any suggestions for how to get the glass replaced, any tips about how to find a place?

UPDATE: a clarification--"shatttered" is probably the wrong word to use. It didn't shatter so much as... visible cracks pervading the entire glass, just like in the first pic. And the glass appears to be just like the front windwhield type, a "sticky" type of glass that does not shatter..
 
Last edited:
Only thing I can think of is as you stated temperature or a stress fracture.

Could have been a the heat in the car and the drastic temps we have been having in the NE. During the storm it was in the single digits. Hot to cold and the cooling process is much quicker when its far colder.

Second might be the stress fracture. My good friends father had a Hyundai Sante Fe(i think its called that) it was one of the 1st gens and it would routinely crack due to the glass and how it was fitted in the vehicle. Hot and cold causes expansion and shrinking which alongside metal shrinking(different densities and different characteristics when exposed to cold) could cause the glass to shatter. It looks like this may have been the case, especially if any water seeped into the edges of where the glass is set into the frame.


Then again I am sure we will have other ideas and thoughts brought up, but best I can come up with.
 
I read about this same thing happening in the Nissan Rogue Forum.

As said above, temperature changes and as in the Rogue forum, poor placement or fit of the rear window.

Covered by warranty in the Rogue Forum.

Also I don't think it was vandalism since you don't have any enemys but the cold weather lately.

Snowpocalapse up there!
 
There's a youtube of a tow truck yanking a front end loader out of a parking space... this snowpocalypse... and taking a SUV out that was parked next to it as well.

Could have been a compressed snowball falling off a passing truck, icicle, anything.

Though my neighbor bought one of the first ever chrysler minivans in 1984 and had window trouble with the sliding door...
 
Warranty!?

hm... do you think I might have a claim? The car has 55,000 miles and it's been 48 months of ownership.

...also, I haven't been doing maintenance at the dealership--it's all been DIY.
 
Originally Posted By: mareakin
Warranty!?

hm... do you think I might have a claim? The car has 55,000 miles and it's been 48 months of ownership.

...also, I haven't been doing maintenance at the dealership--it's all been DIY.


Never hurts to ask.....
 
First guess would be a flaw in the glass that finally manifested itself due to either the temperature change or ice or a chunk of snow from a passing vehicle hitting juuust right.

A friend once had the rear window of her car shatter when she got into her car and closed the door. "Stuff" happens for reasons that aren't always clear.
 
I dunno, some insurance want you to pay a deductible for any type of mishap. If replacing the window is cheaper than a deductible than just get it fixed. If its more expensive, pay them. Not all insurance companies work this way, others may say consider cheaper to replace than upset and lose a customer.
 
Tempered glass sometimes fails due to vibration as well-the heat treatment makes it stronger & more resistant to impacts-but occasionally vibration can also cause it to disintegrate (I've actually seen it happen)! Good luck proving it, though.
 
I have no idea, but that first picture is a cool looking pattern
smile.gif


I would have it replaced right where it sits, driving it could make it fall into your car, and you don't want that.
 
I had the exact same occurrence with the "quarter window" on my truck this fall (mild temps). This is the window for the back seat on an extended cab, which swings out. No apparent source of force, just evenly cracked throughout. The only thing keeping it still in the frame was the tint film.
 
My ex's Lumina was involved in a minor rear end collision. Minimal paint/plastic bumper damage but the back glass imploded.

BUMP! BOOOOOSH! glass all over the backseat.

The bodyshop guy smiled real big but would not comment on whether or not it was a common occurence.

I think the glass was just put in at the factory stressed in a weird way.

Your's? Maybe neighborhood vandals are running around with buckets of boiling water and dumping them on random cars?
21.gif
 
interesting theory, but there was some light snow hovering around the bottom of the rear-windshield and it appears completely untouched... as though, only wind-blown...
 
I wouldn't say blower if it looks exactly like that first pic, as the first pic is not cause by impact. Looks like temp-related stress crack probably caused by the glass getting brittle because of the cold. it contracted against the sealant that was too cold to contract, and stressed the glass to the point of failure. Either way, I think your gonna be out a deductible for a windscreen. I don't think they will cover it under a vehicle warranty.
 
i think its a snowblower. get some wide schoch tape, tape off the hole window on one side and some on the other side. this will help limit the glass needing to be vac up, and glass tech will love you
 
I've heard of this happening on three separate occasions. Two were in Florida and one in Texas; no snow involved but both on cold winter days. Two of the cars were in a drive way and one was being driven while the rear glass shattered. I believe it is just caused by the glass and or metal around it expanding and contracting caused by temperature differences.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top